General info on Regulations on investment/Enterprises

Authorized Importers: As outlined in GVN Decree No. 57/1998/ND-CP, partly revised by Decree No. 44/2001/ND-CP, dated August 2, 2001, Vietnamese traders are entitled to (i) export goods of all kinds, except goods on the list of those banned from export and (ii) import goods according to the business lines stated in their business registration...

All investment activities in Vietnam are regulated by the Law on Enterprise (LOE) passed by the National Assembly dated 29 November 2005 and the Law on Investment (LOI) passed by the National Assembly dated 29 November 2005. Both laws became effective as of 1 July 2006.

Several general principles are important for effective management of intellectual property rights in Vietnam. First, it is important to have an overall strategy to protect IPR. Second, IPR is protected differently in Vietnam than in the other countries. Third, rights must be registered and enforced in Vietnam, under local laws. Companies may wish to seek advice from local attorneys or IP consultants.

Ensuring formal property rights are fundamental. Effective administration of land is put of that. If formal property transfer is too costly or complicated, formal titles might go informal again. Doing Businessrecords the full sequence procedures necessary for a business to purchase a property from another business and transfer the property title to the buyer’s name. In the past 6 years 105 economies undertook 146 reforms making it easier to transfer property.

In many economies, especially developing ones, complying with building regulations is 90 costly in time and money that many builders opt out. Builders may pay bribes to pass inspections of simply build illegally, leading to hazardous construction. Where the regulatory burden is large, entrepreneurs may tend to move their activity into the informal economy. There they operate with leas concern for safety, leaving everyone worse off.

Stronger investor protections matter for the ability of companies to raise the capital needed to grow, innovate, diversify and compete. This is all the more crucial in times of financial crisis when entrepreneur must navigate through defiant environments to finance their activities. Using 3 indices of investor protection, Doing Business measures bow economies regulate a standard case of self-dealing, use of corporate assets for personal gains.